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JOHNS  HOPKINS  UNIVERSITY  STUDIES 

IN 

Historical  and  Political  Science 

HERBERT  B.  ADAMS,  Editor. 


History  is  past  Politics  and  Politics  present  History — Freeman. 


SEVENTH    SERIES 
IV 

MUNICIPAL    HISTORY 


OF 


NEW  ORLEANS 


BY  WILLIAM  W.  HOWE 


BALTIMORE 

N.  Murray,  Publication  Agent,  Johns  Hopkins  Universitt 

APRIL,    1889 


Copyright,  1888,  by  N.  Murray. 


JOHN  MURPHY  A  CO.,  PRINTERS. 
BALTIMORE. 


LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
SANTA  DAliliARA 


MUNICIPAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  ORLEANS. 


I. 

For  nearly  two  centuries  after  the  discovery  of  America,  the 
Mississippi  River  remained  ahnost  unknown ;  and  it  was  not 
until  the  year  1682  that  LaSalle  picked  his  perilous  path  from 
Canada  by  the  way  of  Lake  Michigan  and  the  Illinois,  and 
descended  the  great  stream  to  its  mouth.  He  was  exploring 
under  the  patronage  of  Louis  Fourteenth,  and  gave  the  name 
of  Louisiana  to  the  vast  valley. 

The  first  permanent  settlement  made  by  the  French  in  this 
new  domain  was  established  at  Biloxi,  now  in  the  State  of 
Mississippi,  which  was  founded  by  Iberville  in  1699,  and  was 
the  chief  town  of  the  colony  until  1702,  when  Bienville  moved 
headquarters  to  the  Mobile  River.  The  soil  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Biloxi  is  sandy  and  sterile  and  the  settlers  depended 
mainly  on  supplies  from  France  and  St.  Domingo.  The  French 
Government,  distant  and  necessarily  ignorant  of  the  details  of 
pioneer  life,  sent  instructions  to  search  for  gold  and  pearls. 
The  wool  of  buffaloes  was  also  pointed  out  to  the  colonial 
officials  as  the  future  staple  commodity  of  the  country,  and 
they  were  directed  to  have  a  number  of  these  animals  penned 
and  tamed.^  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that  but  little  profit 
was  ever  realized  from  the  search  for  gold  and  pearls,  or  from 
the  shearing  of  buffiiloes. 

^  Martin's  History  of  Louisiana,  chap.  7. 


6  Municipal  History  of  New  Orleans.  [IGO 

In  1712  the  entire  commerce  of  Louisiana,  with  a  consider- 
able control  in  its  government,  was  granted  by  charter  to 
Anthony  Crozat,  an  eminent  French  merchant.  The  terri- 
tory is  described  in  this  charter  as  that  posessed  by  the  Crown 
between  Old  and  New  Mexico,  and  Carolina,  and  all  the 
settlements,  ports,  roads  and  rivers  therein,  principally  the 
])ort  and  road  of  Dauphine  Island,  formerly  called  Massacre 
Island,  the  river  St.  Louis,  previously  called  the  Mississippi, 
from  the  Sea  to  the  Illinois,  the  river  St.  Philip,  previously 
called  the  Missouri,  the  river  St.  Jerome,  previously  called  the 
Wabash,  with  all  the  lands,  lakes  and  rivers  mediately  or 
immediately  draining  into  any  part  of  the  river  St.  Louis  or 
Mississippi.  The  territory  thus  described  was  to  be  and  re- 
main included  under  the  style  of  the  government  of  Louisiana, 
and  to  be  a  dependency  of  the  government  of  New  France  to 
which  it  was  subordinated.  By  another  provision  of  this 
charter,  the  laws,  edicts  and  ordinances  of  the  realm  and  the 
Custom  of  Paris  were  extended  to  I^ouisiana. 

The  grant  to  Crozat,  which  seemed  so  magnificent  on  paper, 
extending  as  it  did  from  the  Alleghenies  to  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains, and  from  the  Rio  Grande  and  the  Gulf  to  the  far  North- 
west, proved  of  little  use  or  value  to  him,  and  of  little  benefit 
to  the  colony;  and  in  1718  he  surrendered  the  privilege.  In 
the  same  year  the  charter  of  the  Western  or  Mississippi  Com- 
pany was  registered  in  the  Parliament  of  Paris.  The  history 
of  this  scheme,  with  which  John  Law  was  connected,  is  well 
known.  The  exclusive  commerce  of  Louisiana  was  granted 
to  the  Com]->any  for  twenty-five  years,  and  a  monopoly  of  the 
beaver  trade  of  Canada,  together  with  other  extraordinary 
privileges;  and  it  entered  at  once  on  its  new  domain.  Bien- 
ville was  again  appointed  Governor.  He  had  become  satis- 
fied that  the  chief  city  of  the  colony  ought  to  be  established 
on  the  Mississippi,  and  so  in  1718  the  site  of  New  Orleans 
was  selected.  Its  location  was  plainly  determined  by  the  fact 
tliat  it  lies  between  the  River  and  Lake  Ponchartrain,  with 
the   Bayou   St.  John   and  the  Bayou  Sauvage  or  Gentilly 


161]  Municipal  History  of  New  Orlearis.  7 

affording  navigation  for  a  large  part  of  the  distance  from  the 
lake  towards  the  river.  And  even  at  this  early  day  there  was 
a  plan  of  constructing  jetties  at  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi 
and  so  making  New  Orleans  the  deep  water  port  of  the  Gulf. 
Pauger,  the  engineer,  reported  a  plan  for  removing  the  bar  at 
the  entrance  of  one  of  the  passes,  by  the  same  system  in  prin- 
ciple as  the  one  recently  and  successfully  adopted  by  Mr. 
James  B.  Eads  under  the  Act  of  Congress  of  1875.^ 

Le  Page  du  Pratz  visited  the  place  during  the  same  year, 
and  took  up  a  plantation  on  the  Bayou  St.  John,  "  a  short 
half  league  from  the  site  of  the  Capital,"  which  he  says  was 
"then  marked  only  by  a  shed  covered  with  leaves  of  latanier," 
the  building,  such  as  it  was,  being  occupied  by  the  Commandant 
of  the  Post.2 

The  seat  of  government  was  finally  removed  to  New  Orleans 
in  August,  1722,  and  when  Charlevoix  visited  the  place,  in 
December,  1723,  it  contained  about  one  hundred  houses,  mostly 
cabins.  The  well-known  map  of  1728  shows  the  town  pro- 
tected by  a  levee  and  laid  off  in  rectangular  form,  having 
eleven  squares  front  on  the  river  by  a  depth  of  six  squares. 

In  1732  the  Western  Company  surrendered  its  grant.  In 
1763  a  secret  treaty  was  signed  at  Paris  by  which  France 
ceded  to  Spain  all  that  portion  of  Louisiana  which  lay  west 
of  the  Mississippi  together  with  the  City  of  New  Orleans, 
"and  the  Island  on  which  it  stands."  The  war  between 
England,  France  and  Spain  was  terminated  by  the  treaty  of 
Paris  in  February,  1764.  By  the  terms  of  this  treaty  the 
boundary  between  the  French  and  British  possessions  in 
North  America  was  fixed  by  a  line  drawn  along  the  middle 
of  the  River  Mississippi  from  its  source  to  the  River  Iberville 
and  thence  by  a  line  in  the  middle  of  that  stream  and  of  lakes 
Maurepas  and  Ponchartrain  to  the  Sea.  France  ceded  to 
Great  Britain  the  River  and  Port  of  Mobile  and  everything 

^  Statutes  at  large, Vol.  18,  p.  463. 
^  Hist,  de  la  Louis.,  torn.  1,  p.  83. 


8  Municipal  History  of  New  Orleans.  [162 

she  had  possessed  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Mississippi  except 
the  town  of  New  Orleans  and  the  Island  on  which  it  stood. 
As  all  that  part  of  Louisiana  not  thus  ceded  to  Great  Britain 
had  been  already  transferred  to  Spain,  it  followed  that  France 
had  now  parted  with  the  last  inch  of  soil  she  had  owned  on 
the  Continent  of  North  America. 

From  its  foundation  up  to  this  date  New  Orleans  was 
governed  by  the  Superior  Council,  a  body  which  had  general 
control  of  the  colony,  but  at  the  same  time  took  special  charge 
of  the  administration  and  police  of  the  Capital.  This  council 
had  been  first  established  under  Crozat,  in  1712,  by  royal  edict 
with  powers  equivalent  to  those  of  similar  bodies  in  St.  Domingo 
and  Martinique,  and  consisted  of  the  governor  and  commissary 
ordonnateur ;  its  existence  being  limited  to  three  years  from  the 
day  of  its  first  meeting.  In  September,  1 71 6,  it  was  reorganized 
by  a  perpetual  edict  and  composed  of  the  governor  general  and 
intendant  of  New  France,  the  governor  of  Louisiana,  a  senior 
counsellor,  the  King's  lieutenant,  two  puisne  counsellors,  an 
attorney  general  and  a  clerk.  The  edict  gave  to  the  council 
all  the  powers  exercised  by  similar  bodies  in  the  other  colonies. 
Its  sessions  were  directed  to  be  held  monthly.  One  of  its 
most  important  functions  was  judicial,  for  it  determined  all 
cases,  civil  and  criminal,  in  the  last  resort.  In  civil  cases 
three  members  constituted  a  quorum,  in  criminal  cases  five. 
There  was  a  possibility  of  popular  representation  in  the  pro- 
vision that,  in  the  absence  and  lawful  excuse  of  members,  a 
quorum  might  be  completed  by  calling  in  notables. 

The  transfer  of  the  colony  to  the  Western  Company  called 
for  auother  change  in  the  organization  of  the  Council;  and  by 
an  edict  of  September  1719  it  was  made  to  consist  of  such 
directors  of  that  Company  as  might  be  in  the  provinces, 
together  with  the  commandant  general,  a  senior  counsellor, 
the  two  King's  lieutenants,  three  other  counsellors,  an  attorney 
general  and  a  clerk. 

On  the  surrender  of  the  charter  of  the  AYestem  Company 
in  1732,  the  Council  was  again  remodeled  by  royal  letters 


163]  Municipal  History  of  New  Orleans.  9 

patent  of  May  7th.  The  members  were  declared  to  be  the 
governor  general  of  New  France,  the  governor  and  commis- 
sary of  Louisiana,  the  King's  lieutenant,  the  town  mayor  of 
New  Orleans,  six  counsellors,  an  attorney  general  and  a  clerk. 
In  August,  1742,  the  increase  of  trade  had  caused  such  an 
increase  of  litigation  that  it  was  deemed  necessary  to  add  to 
the  judicial  force ;  and  accordingly  by  royal  letters  patent  the 
commissary  ordonnateur  was  directed  to  appoint  four  assessors 
to  serve  for  a  period  of  four  years, — their  duties  being  to  report 
in  cases  referred  to  them,  or  to  sit  when  they  were  required  to 
complete  a  q  aorum  or  to  break  the  dead-l»ck  of  a  tie  vote. 

Under  such  a  regime  New  Orleans  was  hardly  a  municipal 
corporation  in  any  English  or  American  sense.  It  certainly 
had  at  that  time  no  municipal  charter.  It  resembled  in  some 
respects  a  commune,  and  has  been  alluded  to  by  the  Supreme 
Court  of  Louisiana  as  having  been  at  that  time  a  city.^ 


II. 

The  French  inhabitants  of  the  colony  were  astonished  and 
shocked  when  they  found  themselves  suddenly  transferred  to 
Spanish  domination,  and  a  majority  of  the  Superior  Council 
undertook  in  their  official  capacity  to  organize  an  opposition 
to  the  Cession  and  to  order  away  the  Spanish  Governor, 
Antonio  de  Ulloa.  But  the  power  of  Spain,  though  moving 
with  proverbial  slowness,  was  roused  at  last;  and  in  1769 
Alexander  O'Keilly,  the  commandant  of  a  large  Spanish  force, 
arrived  and  reduced  the  province  to  actual  possession.  The 
leaders  in  the  movement  against  Ulloa,  to  the  number  of  five, 
were  tried,  convicted  and  shot.  Another  was  killed  in  a 
struggle  with  his  guards.  Six  others  were  sentenced  to 
imprisonment,  and  the  seditious  documents  of  the  Superior 
Council  were  burned  on  the  Place  d'Arraes. 


^  3  Annual  Kep.,  305. 


10  Municipal  History  of  New  Orleans.  [164 

On  the  21st  of  November,  1769,  a  proclamation  from 
O'Reilly  announced  that,  inasmuch  as  the  Superior  Council 
had  encouraged  this  insurrection,  it  had  become  necessary  to 
abolish  the  body,  and  to  establish  in  Louisiana  that  form  of 
government  and  mode  of  administering  justice  prescribed  by 
those  laws  which  had  so  long  maintained  peace  and  content- 
ment in  the  American  colonies  of  the  Catholic  King.  In  the 
place,  therefore,  of  the  Council,  a  Cabildo  was  established, 
over  which  the  governor  himself  would  preside  in  person, 
and  which  was  composed  of  six  perpetual  regidors,  two  ordi- 
nary alcaldes,  an  attorney  general  syndic  and  a  clerk. 

The  offices  of  Perpetual  Regidor  and  Clerk  were  acquired 
by  purchase  and  were  in  the  first  instance  offered  at  auction. 
The  purchaser  had  the  right  to  transfer  his  office  by  resigna- 
tion in  favor  of  a  known  and  capable  person.  One  half  of 
the  price  of  the  first  transfer  and  one  third  of  each  successive 
one  went  to  the  royal  treasury.  Of  these  regidors  or  rulers, 
the  first  was  Alfarez  Real,  or  royal  standard  bearer ;  the  second 
was  Alcalde  Mayor  Provincial,  a  magistrate  with  jurisdiction 
over  offences  in  the  rural  districts;  the  third  was  Alguazil 
Mayor,  a  civil  and  criminal  sheriff;  the  fourth  was  Depositario 
General,  or  government  store-keeper ;  the  fifth  was  Recibedor 
de  Penas  de  Camara,  or  receiver  of  fines,  while  the  sixth  merely 
held  his  seat  in  the  Cabildo  without  special  official  duties. 

The  ordinary  Alcaldes  and  Attorney  General  Syndic  were 
chosen  by  the  Cabildo  itself  on  the  first  day  of  every  year, 
and  were  required  to  be  residents  and  householders  of  the 
town.  In  the  absence  of  the  unanimous  vote  they  could  not 
be  re-elected  until  they  had  been  out  of  office  for  the  space  of 
two  years  respectively. 

The  ordinary  Alcaldes  were  individually  judges  within  the 
city  in  civil  and  criminal  cases  where  the  defendant  did  not 
possess  and  plead  the  right  to  be  tried  by  a  military  judge, 
fuero  milUar,  or  by  an  ecclesiastical  court,  fuero  ecclesiastico. 
In  cases  where  the  matter  in  dispute  did  not  exceed  twenty 
dollars,  thoy  proceeded  summarily  at  chambers,  and  without 


165]  Municipal  History  of  New  Orleans.  11 

written  record.  In  other  cases  a  record  was  made  up  by  a 
notary,  the  case  was  heard  in  open  court,  and  where  the  matter 
iu  dispute  exceeded  ninety  thousand  maravedis  (§330.88),  an 
appeal  lay  to  the  Cabildo  itself.  That  body  did  not  undertake 
as  such,  to  examine  the  case  but  selected  two  regidors,  who, 
with  the  Alcaldes  who  had  heard  the  cause  below,  reviewed 
the  proceedings. 

The  Attorney  General  Syndic  was  not,  as  his  title  might  seem 
to  indicate,  the  public  prosecutor.  He  appears  to  have  been, 
in  his  way,  a  tribune  of  the  people,  though  not  chosen  by 
them.  It  was  his  duty  to  propose  to  the  Cabildo  such  meas- 
ures as  the  popular  interest  required  and  to  defend  the  popular 
rights. 

O'Keilly  presided  over  the  first  session  of  the  Cabildo  in 
December,  1769,  and  then  yielded  the  chair  to  Unzaga,  who 
had  been  commissioned  as  governor,  with  the  understanding 
that  he  should  not  assume  the  duties  of  the  position  until  the 
captain-general  should  request  him  to  do  so. 

Beyond  the  limits  of  the  town,  in  each  rural  parish,  an 
officer  of  the  army  or  of  the  militia  was  stationed,  and  acted 
both  as  military  commandant  and  chief  civil  officer.  But  the 
city  was  governed  by  the  Cabildo,  and  such  continued  to  be 
its  municipal  administration  during  the  Spanish  rule. 

By  a  proclamation  of  February  22,  1770,  the  captain- 
general  created  and  assigned  to  the  City  of  ISTew  Orleans  a 
special  revenue.  It  consisted  of  an  annual  tax  of  forty  dollars 
on  every  tavern,  billiard  table  and  coffee  house,  and  of  twenty 
dollars  on  every  boarding  house ;  an  impost  of  one  dollar  on 
every  barrel  of  brandy  brought  to  the  city,  and  a  tax  of  three 
Imndred  and  seventy  dollars  on  the  butchers  of  the  place.  To 
enable  the  city  to  keep  up  the  levee,  an  anchorage  duty  was 
also  established  in  its  favor,  of  six  dollars  upon  every  vessel 
of  two  hundred  tons  and  upwards,  and  three  dollars  on  smaller 
craft.  These  exactions  were  not  exorbitant,  but  they  were  the 
seed  of  a  system  which  has  since  become  extensive  and  vicious. 
New  Orleans  to-day  is  exacting  large  sums  in  the  way  of 


12  Municipal  History  of  New  Orleans.  [166 

license  taxes  on  pursuits  which  require  no  police  regulation, 
and  in  the  guise  of  wharf  dues  which  are  really  a  tax  on 
commerce.  The  germs  thus  sown  in  ISpauish  times  have 
grown  like  the  mustard  tree  of  Scripture,  and  require  vigorous 
uprooting.  In  connection  with  the  subject  of  revenue  it  may 
be  noted  that  New  Orleans  suliered  greatly  during  the  Spanish 
domination  from  restrictions  on  the  freedom  of  trade.  Tiie 
colonial  theories  of  Spain  with  respect  to  commerce  were  of 
the  most  benighted  character,  and  it  may  be  stated  as  a  general 
rule  that  it  was  only  by  evasions  of  law  that  the  trade  of  New 
Orleans  was  permitted  to  grow. 

In  1779  war  was  declared  by  Spain  against  Great  Britain 
and  New  Orleans  was  thus  called  upon  to  assist  the  American 
colonies  in  their  struggle  for  independence.  The  youthful  and 
brilliant  Galvez  received  a  commission  of  governor  and  inten- 
dant,  and  took  the  field  at  once  with  an  army  of  about  fourteen 
hundred  men,  made  up  of  his  regular  troops,  the  militia,  a 
number  of  Americans  of  the  city  who  volunteered  their 
services,  and  "  many  of  the  people  of  color."  ^  By  the  last  of 
September  he  had  captured  Fort  Bute  on  Manchac,  and  Baton 
Rouge,  Fort  Panmure  at  Natchez,  and  small  posts  on  the 
Amite  and  Thompson's  Creek.  The  campaign  seems  to  have 
had  a  literary  as  well  as  a  military  result.  Julien  Poydras, 
afterwards  a  member  of  the  Congress  of  the  United  States, 
celebrated  its  successes  in  a  small  French  poem  which  was 
printed  at  the  royal  charge.  In  May,  1781,  Galvez  captured 
Pensacola  and  the  province  of  West  Florida  was  surrendered 
to  Spain. 

On   October   1,    1800,  a   treaty   was    concluded    between 

7  7  ♦- 

France  and  Spain  by  M^hich  the  latter  promised  to  restore 
the  province  of  Louisiana.  France,  however,  did  not  receive 
formal  possession  until  November  30th,  1803,  when,  in  the 
presence  of  the  officers  of  both  nations  the  Spanish  flag  was 
lowered,  the  tri-color  hoisted  and  delivery  made  to  France. 

— — — . -_ »  -■  '  — 

'  Martin  :  Vol.  2,  p.  48. 


/ 


/ 


167]  Municipal  History  of  New  Orleans.  13 

The  French  commissioner,  Laussat,  had  come  as  colonial 
prefect,  and  issued  a  very  rhetorical  })roclamation  congratula- 
ting the  people  upon  their  return  to  the  bosom  of  France,  and 
had  received  in  reply  an  address  from  the  prominent  citizens 
declaring  that  no  spectacle  could  be  more  ati'ecting  than  such 
return.  The  joy,  however,  was  of  brief  duration.  The  cession 
to  France  had  been  procured  by  Napoleon,  and  he  did  not 
deem  it  politic  to  retain  such  a  distant  and  exposed  domain ; 
and  already  in  April  1803,  Louisiana  had  been  ceded  to  the 
United  States.  On  the  20th  of  December  1803,  Governor 
Claiborne  took  formal  posession  for  the  United  States,  and 
"the  tri-color  made  room  for  the  striped  banner  under  repeated 
peals  of  artillery  and  musketry."  ^ 

In  the  meantime,  however,  Laussat  had  by  proclamation 
established  a  municipal  government  for  New  Oi'leans,  in  place 
of  the  Cabildo.^  It  was  composed  of  a  Mayor,  and  two 
Adjuncts,  and  ten  members  of  the  Council.  The  names  are 
familiar  in  our  earlier  history.  Bor6  was  mayor;  his  asso- 
ciates were  Destrehan  and  Sau v6 ;  the  members  were  Livaudais, 
Cavelier,  Villere,  Jones,  Fortier,  Donaldson,  Faurie,  Allard, 
Tureaud,  and  Watkins.  Derbigny  was^  secretary  and  Labatut 
treasurer. 

IIL 

As  stated  by  the  Supreme  Court  of  Louisiana,^  New  Orleans, 
which  had  been  "a  city  under  the  royal  governments  of 
France  and  Spain  was  created  a  municipality  under  the  ephem- 
eral dominion  of  the  Consulate."  Under  the  American  domi- 
nation the  new  territorial  Legislature  deemed  it  proper  to 
establish  its  political  organization  by  a  charter  of  the  American 
type,  and  this  was  done  in  February,  1805.  The  Court  finds 
in  the  decision  above  referred  to,  that  "  the  act  to  incorporate 


1  Martin :  Vol.  2,  p.  199. 

^Id.,  p.  197. 

*  Louisiana  State  Bank  vs.  Orleans  Nav.  Co.,  3rd  Annual  Eep,,  305. 


14  Municipal  History  oj  iS'cw  Orleans.  [168 

the  City  of  New  Orleans  of  the  17th  of  February  of  that 
year,  like  all  the  statutes  passed  at  the  commencement  of  the 
American  government  of  Louisiana — to  the  honor  of  their 
authors  be  it  said — is  a  model  of  legislative  style  and  exhibits 
its  intendment  with  a  clearness  and  precision  which  renders  it 
impossible  to  be  misunderstood.  It  provides  for  the  civil 
government  of  the  city  and  in  general  terms  confers  powers 
of  administration ;  and  in  the  various  special  delegations  of 
authority  it  contains  thereby  excludes  the  idea  of  any  other 

7  powers  being  granted  than  such  as  the  police  and  the  pres- 

ervation of  good  order  of  the  population  require.  *  *  *  It 
prescribes  the  duties  of  the  principal  officers  and  designates 
specially  the  objects  for  which  money  may  be  raised  by  taxa- 
tion, as  well  as  the  objects  of  taxation.  The  whole  tenor  of 
the  act  is  a  delegation  of  power  for  purposes  of  municipal 
administration,  guarded  by  limitations,  and  accompanied  by 
such  checks  as  experience  had  shown  to  be  wise,  expedient  and 
even  necessary  ibr  the  interest  of  those  who  were  to  be  affected 
/  by  it." 

The  officers  under  this  charter  were  a  Mayor,  a  Recorder, 
a  Treasurer,  and  a  number  of  subordinate  officers,  and  ti)e 
Council  was  composed  of  fourteen  Aldermen.  Two  from  each 
of  the  seven  wards  into  which  the  city  was  divided.  The 
Mayor  and  Recorder  were  at  first  appointed  by  the  Governor 
of  the  territory  but  the  officers  were  afterward  made  elective. 
The  Aldermen  were  required  to  be  "  discreet "  inhabitants  of 
and  free  holders  in  their  respective  wards,  and  were  elected  in 
each  ward  by  voters  who,  to  be  qualified,  were  required  to  be 
free  white  male  inhabitants  who  should  have  resided  in  the 
city  for  at  least  one  year,  and  should  have  been  for  at  least 
six  months  free-holders  possessing  and  owning  a  real  estate 
Avorth  at  least  five  hundred  dollars,  or  renting  a  household 
,  tenement  of  the  yearly  value  of  one  hundred  dollars.  By  an 
*  amendment  of  1812,  the  Aldermen  were  required  to  be  "of 
good  fame  and  possessed  of  property  in  their  respective  wards," 
ami  t^^«  Mayor,  thenceforth  to  be  elected,  to  have  had  a  resi- 


169]  Municipal  History  of  New  Orleans.  •     1j 

dence  in  the  city  for  the  four  years  preceding  his  election,  and 
to  possess  in  his  own  name  for  the  last  year  in  the  city  a  real 
estate  of  three  thousand  dollars,  agreeably  to  the  tax  list.  The 
voters  under  this  amendment  were  required  to  have  paid  a 
State,  parish  or  corporation  tax,  or  to  have  possessed  for  six 
months  a  real  estate  of  the  value  of  five  hundred  dollars  con- 
formably to  the  tax  list.  By  an  amendment  of  1818,  the  right 
to  vote  for  municipal  officers  was  extended  to  all  free  white 
male  citizens  of  the  United  States  of  the  age  of  twenty-one 
years  who  had  resided  in  the  city  and  in  the  ward  for  six 
months  next  preceding  the  election  and  who  had  paid  a  State 
tax  within  the  year  preceding  the  election. 

By  this  charter  of  1805  all  rights  and  property  which  had 
belonged  to  the  City  of  New  Orleans,  or  had  been  held  for  its 
use  by  the  Cabildo  under  the  Spanish  government,  or  by  the 
municipality  after  tne  transfer  of  the  province  in  the  year 
1803  to  France,  or  to  the  municipality  at  the  moment,  and 
which  had  not  been  legally  alienated,  lost  or  barred,  were 
vested  in  the  Mayor,  Aldermen  and  inhabitants.^ 

In  1836  another  charter  was  imposed  by  the  State  Legis- 
lature. It  was  undoubtedly  procured  as  a  result  of  differences 
of  opinion  as  to  municipal  methods  between  the  Creoles  of  the 
old  regime  and  the  rapidly  increasing  American  population  of 
Anglo-Saxon  origin.  It  was  a  curious  experiment  in  city 
affairs.  The  territory  of  New  Orleans  was  divided  into  three 
separate  municipalities,  each  having  a  distinct  government 
with  many  independent  powers ;  yet  with  a  Mayor  and  Gen- 
eral Council  with  a  certain  superior  authority.^  It  was  the 
idea  of  local  self-government  pushed  to  an  extreme.  It 
existed  for  sixteen  years,  and  during  its  existence  many 
important  public  improvements  were  made.  At  the  same 
time  the  system  afforded  many  opportunities  for  corruption 
and  extravagance.     Large  floating  debts  were  contracted  and 


lActsof  1805,  p.  64. 
2  Acts  of  1836,  p.  28. 


iG  Municipal  History  of  New  Orleans.  [170 

it  appeared  to  all  that  some  reform  must  be  eifectecl.  In 
1852,  hv  legislation  of  that  session,  the  three  municipalities, 
together  with  the  City  of  Lafayette,  lying  next  above  New- 
Orleans,  were  consolidated  by  a  new  charter ;  and  stringent 
jirovisions  made  for  the  funding  of  the  debt.  An  interesting 
discussion  of  this  charter,  with  respect  to  the  bonded  debt,  is 
found  iu  a  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States  rendered  in  1881.^  By  this  charter,  and  its  supple- 
mental act,^  the  legislative  power  of  the  new  corporation  was 
vested  in  two  bodies,  a  Board  of  Aldermen  and  a  Board  of 
Assistant  Aldermen,  and  its  executive  power  in  a  Mayor,  four 
Recorders,  a  Treasurer,  a  Comptroller,  a  Surveyor,  a  Street 
Commissioner,  and  such  subordinate  officers  as  the  Council 
might  deem  necessary.  The  debt  was  funded,  and  in  1855  it 
was  reported  that  obligations  of  $7,700,000  had  been  reduced 
to  but  little  more  than  $3,000,000. 

In  1856  the  charter  was  amended  and  re-enacted,  and 
elaborate  provisions  made  in  regard  to  assessment  and  taxa- 
tion, and  under  this  legislation  the  corporation  continued 
until  the  year  1870. 

IV. 

In  the  meantime  the  Civil  War  came  on;  and  upon  the 
capture  of  New  Orleans  by  the  forces  of  the  United  States,  in 
May,  1862,  the  administration  of  the  affairs  of  the  city  became 
the  subject  of  military  action.  No  change  could  be  made  at 
the  time  in  existing  legislation.  A  military  Mayor  was  de- 
tailed to  perform  the  duties  of  that  office;  and  such  affairs  of 
the  city  as  required  attention  during  a  complete  military 
occupation  were  entrusted  to  the  Finance  Committee  and  the 
Committee  of  Streets  and  Landings  of  the  Council.  As  a 
matter  of  course  the  administration  of  a  large  city  under  such 
circumstances  and  by  such  means,  under  military  control,  gave 


'  Louisiana  vs.  Pilsbury,  105  U.  S.  Reports,  278. 
^Vctsof  1852,  pp.  42-57. 


171]  Municipal  History  of  New  Orleans.  17 

rise  to  many  singular  questions.  For  an  investigation  of  some 
of  them  the  reader  is  referred  to  the  decisions  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States  which  are  cited  in  the  subjoined 
note/ 

The  discussion,  however,  of  such  controversies  cannot  throw 
much  light  on  the  problem  of  municipal  government  in  times 
of  peace.  But  it  may  be  suggested  that  the  promptness  and 
efficiency  of  military  action  in  matters  of  police  and  sanitation 
in  New  Orleans,  during  the  late  war,  were  a  valuable  object 
lesson,  and  furnish  some  of  those  compensations  which,  Mr. 
Emerson  declared,  always  accompany  calamity. 

The  year  1870  witnessed  an  experiment  in  municipal  govern- 
ment in  New  Orleans  which  deserves  special  mention.  The 
charter  enacted  in  that  year  by  the  Legislature,^  adopted  what 
was  generally  known  as  the  Administration  system.  The 
limits  of  the  city  were  considerably  enlarged  by  including  what 
is  now  known  as  the  sixth  district,  and  was  formerly  Jefferso^i 
City,  and  the  government  of  the  municipality  thus  established 
was  vested  in  a  Mayor  and  seven  Administrators;  namely, 
one  of  Finance,  one  of  Commerce,  one  of  Improvements,  one 
of  Assessments,  one  of  Police,  who  was  ex-officio  a  member  of 
the  Police  Board ;  one  of  Public  Accounts,  and  one  of  Water- 
works and  Public  Buildings.  These  officials  in  the  first  place 
possessed  administrative  and  executive  functions  corresponding 
to  their  names ;  and  each  of  the  seven  was  accordingly  at  the 
head  of  a  bureau  or  department  created  for  him  by  the  statute 
as  follows :  a  Department  of  Finance,  which  was  the  city 
treasury;  a  Department  of  Commerce  which  had  general 
superintendence  of  all  matters  relating  to  markets,  railroads, 
canals,  weights  and  measures,  the  fire  department  and  manu- 
factories ;  a  Department  of  Assessment,  with  general  superin- 
tendence of  all  matters  of  taxation  and  license ;  a  Department 


iNew  Orleans  vs.  The  Steamship  Co.,  20  Wallace,  387;  The  Venice,  2 
Id.,  259;  Grapeshot,  9  Id.,  129;  Mechanics,  etc.  vs.  Union  Bank,  22  Id.,  276. 
''Acts  of  1870,  extra  session,  No.  7. 

2 


18  Munieipal  History  of  New  Orleans.  [172 

of  Tiiiprovements  charged  M'ith  the  construction,  cleansing  and 
repair  of  streets,  sidewalks,  wharves,  bridges  and  drains ;  a 
Department  of  Police  having  charge  of  public  order,  houses  of 
refuge  and  correction,  and  the  lighting  of  the  city ;  a  Depart- 
ment of  Public  Accounts  which  comprised  all  the  duties  of 
an  Auditor  and  Comptroller;  and,  finally,  a  Department  of 
Water-works  and  Public  Buildings,  with  supervision  of  water- 
works, school-houses,  hospitals  and  asylums. 

But  in  the  second  place  it  was  provided  that  the  same  Mayor 
and  Administrators  should  form  the  Council  and  in  a  collective 
capacity  should  have  extensive  legislative  power  for  local 
purposes.  In  this  capacity  it  resembles  the  Spanish  Cabildo. 
Such  a  Council  possessed  naturally  many  valuable  qualities. 
Its  members  were  elected  on  a  general  ticket  and  were  not 
supposed  to  represent  any  local  clique.  In  the  exercise  of  tlieir 
administrative  duties  they  became  familiar  with  the  need  of 
tiieir  respective  departments  and  could  advocate,  explain  or 
defend  on  the  floor  of  the  City  Legislature  what  was  desired 
or  had  been  done  in  the  bureau.  A  small  and  compact  body, 
its  meetings  were  as  business-like  as  those  of  a  bank  directory. 
Its  custom  was  to  assemble  in  the  Mayor's  parlor,  generally 
on  the  day  before  the  regular  weekly  meeting ;  and  sitting  in 
committee  of  the  whole,  to  discuss  with  any  citizens  who  chose 
to  attend,  such  subjects  of  public  interest  as  might  be  brought 
up.  Reporters  from  the  daily  press  were  present,  and  the 
journals  of  the  next  morning  gave  full  particulars  of  the 
interchange  of  ideas.  If  the  subject  seemed  very  important 
and  difficult,  leading  citizens  were  invited  by  letter  or  adver- 
tisement to  attend  and  give  their  views.  As  an  example  of 
thorough  discussion  it  may  be  mentioned  that  an  ordinance  in 
relation  to  sewerage  and  drainage  which  was  proposed  in 
1881,  was  debated  for  upwards  of  one  year,  and  a  hearing 
given  to  every  friend  or  opponent  who  desired  to  express  his 
views. 

No  system  of  government  can  pretend  to  be  perfect ;  and 
the  cliarter  of   1870  could  not  satisfy  every  one.      It  was 


173]  Municipal  History  of  New  Orleans.  19 

claimed  that  the  Council  under  the  charter  was  too  small  and 
could  be  too  easily  controlled  in  the  interests  of  private  or 
corporate  gain.  No  preponderant  evidence,  however,  of  this 
assertion  ever  appeared.  The  administrators  as  a  rule,  were 
citizens  prominent  either  in  business  or  politics,  and  as  such 
were  far  more  amenable  to  public  opinion  than  the  ordinary 
councilman  of  the  average  American  city.  Their  methods 
were  essentially  business-like  and  their  legislation  as  a  whole 
was  characterized  by  public  spirit  and  progress. 

It  is  a  matter  of  regret  that  the  administration  system 
could  not  have  been  continued  longer  than  it  was,  but  after 
the  adoption  of  a  new  State  constitution  in  1879  a  powerful 
pressure  for  a  complete  change  was  established  by  local 
politicians.  The  Legislature  accordingly,  in  June,  1882, 
adopted  the  present  charter  of  New  Orleans.^  The  City  of 
Carrollton  had  already,  in  1874,  been  annexed,^  and  the  limits 
of  the  existing  municipality  are  therefore  very  extensive. 

By  this  charter  the  legislative  power  of  the  corporation 
is  vested  in  one  Council  composed  of  thirty  members  elected 
by  the  qualified  voters  of  their  respective  districts.  They 
must  be  citizens  of  the  State  not  less  than  twenty-five  years 
of  age ;  must  be  residents  of  the  districts  they  represent ;  and 
must  have  been  residents  of  the  city  for  five  years  next  pre- 
ceding their  election. 

The  executive  power  is  vested  in  a  Mayor,  a  Treasurer,  a 
Comptroller,  a  Commissioner  of  Public  Works,  and  a  Com- 
missioner of  Police  and  Public  Buildings,  who  are  elected  on 
a  general  ticket.  These  officers  must  be  at  least  twenty-five 
years  of  age,  except  the  Mayor,  who  must  be  at  least  thirty, 
citizens  of  the  State  and  residents  of  New  Orleans  for  five 
years  next  preceding  their  election.  The  Mayor  presides  at 
the  meeting  of  the  Council ;  and  the  other  executive  officers 
of  the  city  mentioned  above  have  a  right  to  seats  on  the  floor 

iActsofl882,  No.  20. 
'Acts  of  1874,  No.  71. 


20  Municipal  History  of  New  Orleans.  [174 

of  the  Council  during  its  sessions,  with  a  right  to  debate  and 
discuss  all  matters  having  reference  to  their  respective  depart- 
ments, but  without  a  vote.  This  is  a  valuable  provision, 
and  if  executed  in  good  faith  cannot  but  produce  a  beneficial 
etlect. 

The  executiv^e  officers  above  named  may  be  impeached  and 
removed  by  the  Council  for  malfeasance  or  gross  neglect  of 
duty,  or  disability  affecting  fitness  to  hold  office.  Articles  of 
impeachment  may  be  preferred  by  the  Committee  of  Public 
Order  (who  in  this  case  on  the  trial  will  be  recused),  or  by 
six  members  of  the  Council,  or  by  twenty  citizens. 

Some  check  on  hasty  legislation  is  imposed,  firstly,  by  the 
usual  veto  power  in  the  Mayor,  and  secondly,  by  the  provision 
that  "  no  ordinance  or  resolution  shall  pass  the  Council  at  the 
same  session  at  which  it  is  first  offered,  but  any  ordinance  or 
resolution  shall  at  its  first  offering  be  read  in  full  and  shall 
lie  over  one  week  before  being  finally  considered  by  the 
Council." 

The  Fire  Department  of  New  Orleans  is  still  of  a  volunteer 
character.  It  is  organized  as  a  charitable  association,  and 
naturally  retains  many  of  the  sentiments  and  traditions  which 
have  become  obsolete  in  other  American  cities,  where  the  paid 
system  has  been  introduced  as  a  part  of  municipal  government. 
It  has  an  existing  contract  with  the  city  for  the  extinguish- 
ment of  fires  which  has  yet  some  two  years  to  run.  It  is 
not  likely  that  this  contract  will  be  renewed.  The  city  has 
become  so  large  that  while  the  Firemen's  Charitable  Associa- 
tion is  theoretically  composed  of  volunteers,  it  is  obliged  to 
pay  a  large  number  of  regular  employes  in  the  care  of  the 
engine  houses  and  horses,  and  the  use  of  the  steam  engines  and 
other  apparatus  which  have  superseded  the  sim})le  appliances 
of  earlier  years.  The  press  is  agitating  for  a  paid,  govern- 
mental system.  It  is  alleged  that  the  voluntary  system  has 
been  used  as  a  political  machine  in  local  and  even  in  State 
])olitics,  that  it  is  cumbrous  and  costly,  and  that  the  time  for 
its  usefulness  has  past.     The  paid  members  of  the  association 


175]  Municipal  History  of  New  Orleans.  21 

will  make  no  objection  to  being  transferred  to  municipal  con- 
trol, and  such  transfer  will  probably  be  made  as  soon  as  it 
can  be  done  without  impairing  contract  rights. 

The  topography  of  New  Orleans  gives  constant  and  pressing 
importance  to  questions  of  levees,  drainage  and  paving.  Large 
expenditures  have  been  made  in  this  direction  during  the  last 
half  century.  The  trouble  in  these  matters,  as  in  most  of  our 
American  cities,  has  been  to  secure  some  system  that  should 
be  continuous,  consistent,  and  riglitly  administered.  The  soil 
of  the  entire  city  is  alluvial,  and  the  fall,  such  as  it  is,  is  from 
the  Mississippi  towards  Lakes  Ponchartrain  and  Borgne.  To 
pave  such  a  soil  in  such  a  way  as  to  form  a  surface  that  will 
sustain  heavy  traffic,  during  winter  rains,  is  a  problem  of 
difficulty.  For  business  streets,  square  blocks  of  granite  are 
found  to  last  longer  than  any  other  material.  Some  of  the 
principal  avenues  have  been  asphalted  on  a  foundation  of  con- 
crete. Others  have  been  laid  with  from  nine  to  twelve  inches 
of  gravel  which  is  claimed  to  possess  concreting  qualities,  and 
is  in  some  instances  laid  on  a  foundation  of  cypress  planks 
which  are  expected  to  resist  decay  until  the  needful  arch  is 
formed  above  them. 

What  is  specially  needed  now  is  a  system  by  which  the 
work  on  the  levees,  the  drainage  and  the  paving  of  the  city 
shall  be  harmonized,  and  continued  without  interruption  until 
it  shall  be  completed  in  a  manner  worthy  of  the  place.  The 
legislative  committee  of  the  Council  has  within  the  last  week* 
prepared  an  act  on  this  subject  which  the  Council  has  ap- 
proved and  requested  the  State  Legislature  to  adopt.  It 
establishes  a  Commission  of  Public  Works  in  the  City  of 
New  Orleans,  composed  of  the  Mayor  and  Commissioner  of 
Public  Works,  of  the  chairmen  of  five  standing  committees 
of  the  Council  on  such  subjects,  and  of  six  citizens  to  be 
selected  from  different  districts  of  the  city.  The  matter  of 
levees,  paving  and  drainage  is  to  be  entrusted  to  this  Commis- 

1  June,  1888. 


22  Municipal  History  of  New  Orleans.  [176 

sion,  certain  funds  of  the  city  are  to  be  turnetl  over  to  it,  and 
it  is  empowered  to  submit  to  a  vote  of  property  taxpayers  the 
question  of  a  special  tax  for  its  further  revenue  under  a  con- 
stitutional provision  which  will  be  presently  referred  to.  If 
this  legislation  be  adopted  it  may  lay  a  foundation  of  perma- 
nent and  consistent  improvements. 

The  water  supply  of  New  Orleans  is  drawn  from  the  Mis- 
sissippi River  and  is  in  the  hands  of  a  Company,  in  which, 
however,  the  city  has  some  stock  and  a  representation  on  the 
board  of  direction.  The  first  company  was  incorporated  in 
1833,  as  the  Commercial  Bank,  at  a  time  when  it  was  the 
fashion  to  charter  banks  with  a  power  to  do  something  quite 
irrelevant  to  the  operations  of  finance.  By  a  provision  of  the 
charter  the  city  had  the  right  to  purchase  the  works  at  any 
time  after  the  lapse  of  thirty-five  years.  This  right  was 
exercised  in  1869,  and  bonds  issued  for  the  amount  of  the 
appraisement.  The  city  operated  the  system  until  1 877,  when, 
being  in  default  in  the  interest  on  the  bonds  as  well  as  on  the 
rest  of  her  funded  debt,  it  was  deemed  wise  to  put  the  concern 
in  the  hands  of  a  business  corporation.  This  change  was 
effected  under  the  Act  of  March  31,  1877,  the  bonds  given  in 
1869  being  mostly  exchanged  for  stock  in  the  new  company. 
Under  this  Act,  as  interpreted  by  the  Courts,  the  "Water-works 
Company  has  a  monopoly  of  the  supply  of  water  for  sale, 
which  is  to  last  for  fifty  years  from  the  date  of  the  act  of 
1877.^  Some  improvements  have  been  made  of  late  in  the 
service  by  the  introduction  of  a  stand-pipe,  with  a  head  of 
sixty  feet,  and  by  some  extension  of  the  mains.  The  problem 
of  filtering  the  water,  however,  remains  unsolved.  It  is,  as  a 
rule,  very  muddy  and  unattractive  for  any  purpose.  The  use 
of  cistern  water,  stored  in  cypress  tanks,  above  ground,  is 
almost  universal  in  New  Orleans.  Such  water,  exposed  to 
light  and  air  and  renewed  by  frequent  showers,  is  clear  and 
white,  makes  a  charming   bath    and  when  filtered   through 

'  115  U.  S.,  674;  120  Id.,  64;  125  Id.,  18. 


177]  Jlanicipal  History  of  New  Orleans.  23 

porous  stone  as  it  may  easily  be,  is  agreeable  and  wholesome 
for  drinking. 

The  gas  supply  of  the  city  on  the  left  bank,  except  in  the 
Sixth  and  Seventh  Districts,  is  furnished  by  a  business  corpora- 
tion, which,  after  a  considerable  amount  of  contest  in  the 
Courts  has  by  consolidation  acquired  an  exclusive  right  for 
fifty  years  from  1875.  The  details  of  the  legislation  and  of 
the  discussions  in  regard  to  it  will  be  found,  like  many  other 
facts  of  the  history  of  New  Orleans,  in  the  decisions  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States.^  The  contest,  however, 
with  the  new  methods  of  electrical  lighting  has  taken  the 
place  of  litigation  in  the  Courts.  Already  the  arc  light  has 
driven  gas  entirely  from  the  streets,  and  the  incandescent 
lights  are  beginning  to  be  numerous  in  shops  and  even  in 
dwellings.  One  of  the  newest  and  largest  churches  is  thus 
illuminated.  With  wire  doors  and  windows,  electric  lights 
and  electric  fans,  a  library  in  New  Orleans  may  be  made  as 
comfortable  in  August  as  in  January,  What  may  be  the  out- 
come of  the  struggle  between  cheap  water-gas  and  electricity, 
it  is  not  the  province  of  this  paper  to  predict.  At  the  moment, 
electricity  dominates  in  public  places,  and  a  system  of  iron 
towers  for  carrying  the  wires  has  already  been  begun. 


V. 

The  City  of  New  Orleans  has  been  at  different  times  the 
recipient  of  donations  for  charitable  purposes,  which  may  be 
briefly  referred  to  as  part  of  her  municipal  history,  and  as 
throwing  perhaps  some  light  upon  the  question  whether  such 
gifts  should  be  made  to  municipal  corporations  or  placed  in 
the  hands  of  private  trustees. 

In  1838  by  the  will  of  Alexander  Milne,  a  native  of  Scot- 
land, property  of  apparently  large  value  was  left  to  four 

'  N.  O.  Gas  Co.  vs.  La.  Light  Co.,  115  U.  S.,  650  and  cases  there  cited. 


24  Municipal  History  of  New  Orleans.  [178 

asylums.  The  trust,  so  far  as  the  Asylum  for  Destitute  Boys 
is  coucerned,  is  now  managed  by  the  Mayor  and  the  assets 
comprise  a  large  amount  of  real  estate  of  little  present  value, 
and  some  city  bonds  worth  about  $3,000. 

The  will  of  Joseph  Claude  Mary,  in  1840,  left  $5,000  to 
the  orphans  of  the  First  Municipality  of  New  Orleans,  After 
some  litigation  this  bequest  was  declared  by  the  Court  ^  to 
vest  in  the  Municipality,  and  should  therefore  be  administered 
by  the  present  City.  At  last  accounts  it  had  been  turned  over 
to  a  Boys'  Asylum  which  is  a  private  corporation.  The  reasons 
for  this  diversion  of  funds  are  not  apparent,  and,  until  some 
excuse  be  forthcoming,  may  be  treated  as  inexcusable. 

About  the  same  time  Stephen  Henderson,  a  native  of  Scot- 
land, bequeathed  the  sum  of  $2,000  per  annum  for  the  poor  of 
the  Parish  of  Orleans,  a  territory  now  co-terminus  with  and 
controlled  by  the  City  of  New  Orleans.  By  an  act  of  com- 
promise with  the  heirs,  the  parish  then,  and  the  city  now,  has 
acquired  sundry  cotton-press  lots,  the  rents  of  wdiich  are  dis- 
pensed in  small  sums  in  charity  tu  the  poor.  The  bequest  in 
this  form  can  hardly  be  considered  of  much  practical  value. 
At  least,  from  the  hard-hearted  view  of  modern  political 
economy,  such  gratuities  can  produce  little  effect  except  to 
destroy  the  self-respect  and  will-power  of  the  recipients. 

The  Girod  Fund  was  left  by  the  will  of  Nicholas  Girod, 
who  died  in  1840.  Its  administration  has  not  been  felicitous. 
The  principal,  which  in  1866,  had  reached  a  sum  of  about 
$80,000,  was  expended  in  the  erection  of  an  asylum  for  the 
charitable  purposes  contemplated  by  the  will.  The  building 
for  some  reason,  never  made  public,  was  erected  on  the  margin 
of  a  swamp  in  the  rear  of  the  city,  in  the  most  unwhole- 
some locality  that  could  have  been  selected,  and  is  entirely 
useless. 

The  Touro  Alms  House  bequest  was  made  by  the  will  of 
Judah  Touro,  a  well  known  philanthropist,  who  died  in  1854. 

'  2  Robinson,  438. 


179]  Municipal  History  of  New  Orleans.  25 

The  sum  of  ^80,000  was  left  "  to  prevent  mendicity  in  New 
Orleans."  The  trust  was  administered  by  the  city.  The  Alms 
House  was  completed  in  1860  at  great  expense  on  a  site  donated 
by  Mr.  R.  D.  Shepherd.  In  1864  while  occupied  by  United 
States  troops  it  was  destroyed  by  fire,  and  nothing  tangible 
now  remains  of  the  charity  except  the  land  and  a  fund  of 
about  |5,000.  It  is  believed  that  the  United  States  ought  in 
equity  to  restore  the  value  of  the  building. 

The  Fink  Asylum  Fund  results  from  dispositions  in  the 
will  of  John  B.  Fink,  of  November,  1855,  and  has  assets 
reported  at  about  $290,000.  The  bequest  was  for  an  asylum 
"  for  Protestant  Widows  and  Orphans  "  ;  and  the  Court  after 
some  litigation  decided  ^  that  it  should  be  administered  by  the 
city.  The  income  is  used  for  the  support  of  an  asylum  for  the 
object  named. 

The  Sickles  Legacy  was  left,  in  1864,  by  S.  V.  Sickles,  an 
apothecary,  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  a  "  dispensary  for 
indigent  sick  persons."  It  is  administered  by  the  Mayor  and 
the  financial  officers  of  the  city,  by  arrangement  with  drug- 
gists, who  agree  to  dispense  medicines  to  the  poor  at  certain 
localities.     Its  fund  now  amounts  to  about  §36,000. 

The  McDonogh  donation  was  the  most  important  of  those 
under  consideration ;  was  the  one  most  peculiar  in  its  char- 
acter; and  was  a  matter  which  concerned  also  the  City  of 
Baltimore.  John  McDonogh,  a  native  of  Baltimore,  came  to 
the  City  of  New  Orleans  about  the  year  1800,  lived  the  life 
of  a  somewhat  eccentric  bachelor,  and  died  in  1850.  The 
principal  feature  of  his  will  was  an  attempt  to  establish  an 
estate  which  was  to  be  perpetual  in  its  existence  and  was  to 
grow  into  something  prodigious  in  its  proportions.  As  stated 
by  the  learned  Mr.  Hennen,  in  his  summary  of  the  litigation 
in  the  Supreme  Court  of  Louisiana,^  tiie  decision  in  which  was 
concurred   in,  substantially,  by  the   Supreme   Court  of  the 


» 12  Annual  Kep.,  301. 

'^Hennen's  Dig.,  p.  443,   8  Annual  Rep.,  p.  171. 


26  Municipal  History  of  New  Orleans.  [180 

United  States/  McDonogli,  after  certain  special  legacies  in  apt 
terms,  bequeathed  all  the  rest  of  his  estate  to  the  cities  of 
Baltimore  and  New  Orleans,  for  certain  purposes  afterward 
mentioned,  and  especially  the  establishment  and  support  of 
free  schools  for  the  poor  only,  of  all  colors  in  both  cities.  He 
directed  his  executors  to  invest  his  personal  property  in  real 
estate  to  constitute  a  fund,  never  to  be  alienated,  but  to  exist 
for  all  time,  a  perpetual  entity,  christened  "My  General 
Estate."  Commissioners  annually  appointed  by  the  cities, 
and  subject  to  their  visitation,  were  to  have  forever  the  seizin 
and  exclusive  management  of  this  estate,  the  annual  revenues 
of  which  were  to  be  applied  as  follows :  one-fourth  to  two 
designated  institutions  of  pious  character,  to  the  former  for  a 
certain  number  of  years,  to  the  latter  until  a  certain  sura  had 
been  received,  when  both  annuities  were  to  cease;  another 
fourth  to  the  cities,  to  be  handed  over  to  their  appointed 
directors  to  found  certain  charities,  and  when  each  city  had 
received  a  certain  sum  these  annuities  in  like  manner  were  to 
cease;  while  the  remaining  two-fourths  were  to  be  divided 
between  commissioners  appointed  by  the  cities,  to  whom,  on 
termination  of  the  other  annuities,  the  whole  revenues  were  to 
be  paid  to  support  the  free  schools  in  both  cities. 

No  part  of  the  estate  or  its  revenues  was  ever  to  go  into  the 
hands  of  the  corporate  authorities,  the  testator  declaring  his 
great  object  to  be  "the  gradual  augmentation  of  the  real 
estate  to  belong  to  and  be  owned  by  the  General  Estate  for 
centuries  to  come."  And  this  estate,  and  the  several  funds 
and  institutions  created,  he  recommended,  should  be  incorpo- 
rated. No  partition  was  ever  to  be  made  by  the  cities,  nor 
any  change  by  agreement  or  compromise  in  their  relations  to 
each  other  or  the  estate ;  and  if  they  violated  any  of  the  con- 
ditions, their  rights  were  to  be  forfeited,  and  the  estate,  still 
inalienable,  was  limited  over  equally  to  the  States  of  Louisiana 
and  Maryland,  to  educate  their  poor  as  they  might  direct.     If 


'  15  Howard,  p.  3G7. 


181]  Ilunicipal  History  of  Neio  Orleans.  27 

the  legacies  lapsed  from  any  cause  whatever,  they  were  to 
enure  to  the  States,  to  carry  out  the  testator's  intentions  as  far 
as  they  thought  proper.  The  ultimate  design  was  to  educate 
the  poor  of  the  two  cities,  and  disinherit  the  legal  heirs.  It 
was  held  by  the  Court,  after  great  discussion,  that  the  cities 
had  the  capacity  to  take  the  legacies,  which  were  not  void  for 
uncertainty  in  the  recipients  of  the  charities ;  that  there  were 
no  prohibited  substitutions  ov  fidei  commissa  in  the  bequests,  of 
the  conditions  of  which,  so  far  as  impossible  or  against  public 
policy,  the  will  was  to  be  eviscerated ;  that  the  States  could 
not  take  instead  of  the  cities,  which,  as  residuary  legatees 
under  a  universal  title,  were  entitled  to  the  legacies ;  and  that 
in  any  contingency  the  heirs  at  law  could  claim  nothing. 

The  net  result  of  the  McDonogh  will  cases  was  to  give  the 
property  to  Baltimore  and  New  Orleans,  subject  to  sundry 
legacies  and  charges  which  were  paid  or  compromised.  The 
extraordinary  plan  w4iich  the  imagination  of  the  testator  had 
formed  in  his  lonely  hours  of  celibacy  was  never  realized;  but 
the  object  was  to  some  practical  extent  attained.  The  net 
proceeds  of  the  estate  were  divided  between  the  cities,  to  be 
applied  to  educational  purposes.  The  popular  belief  has  been 
that  the  trust  has  not  been  well  administered  by  New  Orleans. 
This  belief,  however,  is  not  well  founded.  The  amount  of 
the  estate  was  much  exaggerated ;  portions  of  it  were  depre- 
ciated in  the  lapse  of  time,  and  the  expenses  of  defending  it 
were  heavy.  The  city  received  in  round  numbers  about 
$750,000.  With  the  proceeds  she  has  erected  and  furnished 
eighteen  school  houses.  At  an  early  period  of  the  late  war 
some  of  the  assets  were  diverted  for  the  purpose  of  fortifying 
the  city,  but  were  afterwards  restored.  The  present  value  of 
the  property,  including  the  school  houses,  is  estimated  at  about 

|;800,ooo. 

These  various  trust  funds  have  gone  through  so  many  perils, 
and  especially  in  times  of  civil  war,  that  it  is  not  believed  such 
bequests  will  ever  be  again  made  in  the  future  as  in  the  past. 
From  one  point  of  view  the  city,  by  the  continuity  of  its  life 


28  Municipal  History  of  New  Orleans.  [182 

and  the  publicity  of  its  methods,  offers  assurances  of  safety  and 
care.     The  general  verdict,  however,  would  be  that  it  is  better 
for  a  testator  to  vest  his  benefactions  in  a  private  corporation 
or,  better  yet,  if  possible,  to  establish  them  in  full  operation 
before  his  death. 

VI. 

It  may  be  proper  to  refer  to  the  history  of  the  elective 
franchise  under  the  successive  constitutions  of  Louisiana,  in 
connection  with  the  history  of  the  city  government  of  New 
Orleans.  By  the  Constitution  of  1812,  the  qualified  elector 
is  declared  to  be  the  "  free  white  male  citizen  of  the  United 
States  who  at  the  time  being  hath  attained  the  age  of  twentv- 
one  years,  and  resided  in  the  country  in  which  he  offers  to 
vote  one  year  next  preceding  the  election,  and  who  in  the  last 
six  months  prior  to  said  election  shall  have  paid  a  state  tax ; 
provided,  that  every  free  white  male  citizen  of  the  Unitetl 
States  who  shall  have  purchased  land  from  the  United  States 
shall  have  the  right  of  voting  whenever  he  shall  have  the 
other  qualifications  of  age  and  residence  above  described." 

By  the  Constitution  of  1845  it  was  provided  that  "in  all 
elections  by  the  people  every  free  white  male,  who  has  been 
two  years  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  who  had  attained  the 
age  of  twenty-one  years,  and  resided  in  the  State  two  consecu- 
tive years  next  preceding  the  election,  and  the  last  year  thereof 
in  tlie  parish  in  which  he  offers  to  vote,  shall  have  the  right 
to  vote." 

By  the  Constitution  of  1852  the  qualified  elector  is  declared 
to  be  the  "  free  white  male  who  has  attained  the  age  of  twenty- 
one  years  and  wlio  has  been  a  resident  of  the  State  twelve 
months  next  preceding  the  election,  and  the  last  six  months 
thereof  in  the  parish  in  which  he  offers  to  vote,  and  who  shall 
be  a  citizen  of  the  United  States." 

The  Constitution  of  1864  declared  that  every  white  male 
who  liad  attained  the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  and  who  had 


183]  Municipal  History  of  New  Orleam.  29 

been  a  resident  of  the  State  twelve  months  next  preceding  the 
election  and  the  last  three  months  thereof  in  the  parish  in 
which  he  offers  to  vote,  and  who  was  a  citizen  of  the  United 
States  should  have  the  right  of  voting. 

By  the  Constitution  of  1868  the  right  of  suffrage,  except  in 
certain  cases  of  disfranchisement,  was  further  extended  to 
include  every  male  person  of  the  age  of  twenty-one  years  or 
upwards,  born  or  naturalized  in  the  United  States,  and  subject 
to  the  jurisdiction  thereof,  and  a  resident  of  the  State  one  year 
next  preceding  an  election  and  the  last  ten  days  within  the 
parish  in  which  he  should  offer  to  vote. 

Finally,  by  the  Constitution  of  1879,  a  further  step  was 
taken,  and  the  right  of  suffrage,  whether  in  State  or  municipal 
elections,  now  belongs  to  every  male  citizen  of  the  United 
States,  and  every  male  person  of  foreign  birth  who  has  been 
naturalized  or  who  may  have  legally  declared  his  intention  to 
become  a  citizen  of  the  United  States  before  he  offers  to  vote, 
who  is  twenty-one  years  of  age,  and  who  has  resided  in  the 
State  one  year,  in  the  parish  six  months  and  in  the  ward  or 
precinct  thirty  days,  next  preceding  the  election. 

It  will  thus  appear  that  the  personal  right  of  suffrage  in 
New  Orleans  has  been  gradually  extended  until  its  latitude  is 
extreme.  Another  provision,  however,  of  the  present  Consti- 
tution alluded  to  above,  establishes  a  safe-guard  against  the 
extravagance  which  might  result  from  a  misuse  of  the  elective 
franchise  as  it  affects  the  use  of  the  taxing  power.  The  City 
Council  is  prohibited  from  levying  an  annual  ad  valorem  tax 
for  general  purposes  exceeding  one  per  centum  on  the  assessed 
value  of  property,  real  and  personal.  Of  course  there  are 
other  taxes  for  the  interest  on  city  bonds,  which  must  continue 
until  the  bonds  are  paid,  but  the  tax  for  general  purposes,  or 
alimony  of  the  city,  is  limited  to  the  ten  mills.  At  the  same 
time,  for  the  purpose  of  constructing  "works  of  public  improve- 
ment," the  rate  of  taxation  "  may  be  increased  when  the  rate 
of  such  increase  and  the  purpose  for  which  it  is  intended  shall 
have  been  submitted  to  a  vote  of  the  property  tax-payers"  of 


30.  Municipal  History  of  New  Orleans.  [184 

the  "  INIunicipality  entitled  to  vote  under  the  election  laws  of 
the  State  and  a  majority  of  same  voting  at  such  election  shall 
have  voted  therefor."  ^  By  this  plan  a  certain  control  is  vested 
in  the  property  tax-payers,  in  a  manner  which  promises  to  be 
beneficial. 

Referrino;  again  to  the  successive  constitutions  of  the  State, 
attention  may  be  directed  to  the  protection  they  have  sought 
to  afford  to  the  right  of  the  citizens  of  New  Orleans  to  deal 
directly  as  voters  with  the  question  of  its  police.  The  pro- 
vision in  the  fundamental  law  of  1812  was  as  follows : 

"  The  citizens  of  the  town  of  New  Orleans  shall  have  the 
right  of  appointing  the  several  public  officers  necessary  for  the 
administration  and  the  police  of  said  city,  pursuant  to  the 
mode  of  election  which  shall  be  prescribed  by  the  legislature ; 
provided  that  the  Mayor  and  Recorder  be  ineligible  to  a  seat 
in  the  general  assembly." 

By  the  constitutions  of  1845  and  1852  the  right  was  limited 
to  the  appointment,  by  the  same  methods,  of  the  "  officers 
necessary  for  the  administration  of  the  police  of  the  city,"  and 
it  was  held  by  the  Supreme  Court  that  these  provisions, 
whether  in  1812,  1845,  or  1852,  did  not  impair  the  power  of 
the  legislature  to  deal  with  the  drainage  of  the  city,  either 
directly  or  through  the  agency  of  a  company.^ 

In  the  constitution  of  1864  the  provision  was  repeated  as 
to  the  administration  of  the  police,  while  the  Governor,  how- 
ever, was  empowered  to  appoint  five  commissioners,  who,  with 
the  Mayor,  should  constitute  a  board  to  try  and  remove  delin- 
quent policemen. 

The  entire  provision  was  omitted  from  the  constitution  of 
1868,  and  under  this  the  legislature  introduced  a  metropolitan 
police  system,  imitated  from  that  then  existing  in  New  York, 
and  including  a  considerable  territory  outside  the  city  limits ; 
and  it  was  held  to  be  lawful  because  the  provision  in  question 


'  Constitution  of  1879,  art.  209. 

"^  In  re  Draining  Co.,  11  La.,  Art.  338. 


185]  Municipal  History  of  Ni^w  Orlearis.  31 

had  been  so  omitted.^  The  commissioners  were  appointed  by 
the  Governor. 

In  the  constitution  of  1879  the  right  was  restored  by  the 
following  language : 

"  The  citizens  of  the  City  of  New  Orleans,  or  of  any  politi- 
cal corporation  which  may  be  created  within  its  limits,  shall 
have  the  right  of  appointing  the  several  public  officers  neces- 
sary for  the  administration  of  the  police  of  said  city,  pursuant 
to  the  mode  of  election  which  shall  be  provided  by  the  general 
assembly."  ^ 

Under  the  present  charter  of  the  city — of  1882 — the  Mayor 
appoints  police  officers,  policemen,  and  watchmen,  by  and  with 
the  consent  of  a  majority  of  the  Council,  under  the  ordinances 
of  the  Council  organizing  the  force,  and  may  suspend  such 
officers,  reporting  the  fact  and  the  cause  to  the  Council  for  its 
action.  He  is  empowered  to  control  and  make  regulations  for 
the  force,  the  Council,  however,  having  the  right  by  a  two- 
thirds  vote  to  repeal  such  regulations.^ 

VII. 

The  full  history  of  a  city  government  is  not  to  be  found  in 
the  statute  books  or  the  ordinances  of  its  Common  Council ; 
and  this  sketch  would  be  incomplete  without  some  notice  of 
those  voluntary  associations  on  the  part  of  citizens  of  New 
Orleans  which  during  the  last  decade  have  attempted  to  assist 
or  influence  the  city  government  in  corporate  matters. 

The  Auxiliary  Sanitary  Association  was  organized  after  the 
epidemic  of  1878  for  the  purpose  of  promoting  public  health. 
It  was  felt  that,  in  the  condition  of  the  finances  of  the  City,  it 
was  necessary  to  invoke  private  subscription.  The  appeals  of 
the  Association  met  with  a  liberal  response;  and  the  Associa- 
tion has  continued  to  carry  on  its  work,  not  only  by  a  constant 


1  Diamond  vs.  Cain,  21  La.,  Annual  Rep.,  309. 

^  Art.  253. 

3  Acts  of  1882,  p.  23. 


32  3Iunicipal  History  of  New  Orleans.  [186 

criticism  of  imperfect  methods,  but  by  some  positive  works  of 
public  improvement.  The  most  important  of  these  is  the 
system  of  appliances  for  flushing  the  gutters  during  the  summer 
months  with  water  from  the  Mississippi  River.  New  Orleans 
is  so  situated  that  it  is  considered  impracticable  to  construct 
the  large  subterranean  sewers  which  are  necessary  to  carry 
off  storm  waters.  Such  storm  waters  are  therefore  conveyed 
by  gutters  and  draining  canals  to  low  points  in  the  rear  of  the 
city  and  thence  lifted  by  draining  wheels  into  the  lake.  To 
flush  these  gutters  and  canals  in  hot  weather,  the  Association 
has  erected  on  the  levee  two  steam  pumps  with  a  daily  capacity 
of  about  8,000,000  gallons  each,  and  arranged  a  system  of 
pipes  by  which  the  principal  streets  at  right  angles  to  the 
river  are  supplied  with  flushing  water.  It  is  said  that  such 
appliances  if  constructed  by  the  city  would  have  cost  $200,000. 
The  Association,  by  its  closer  and  more  skilful  business 
methods  procured  them  for  about  $75,000. 

Without  assuming  any  partisan  attitude,  mention  may  be 
made  in  this  connection  of  two  other  associated  efforts  which 
have  recently  exercised  much  influence  in  the  municipal  history 
of  New  Orleans.  One  is  called  the  Committee  of  One  Hun- 
dred, the  other  the  Young  Men's  Democratic  Association. 

The  Committee  of  One  Hundred  was  organized  in  the  spring 
of  1885.  It  has  taken  no  part  in  partisan  politics,  and  none 
of  its  members  can  be  a  candidate  for  office.  Its  chief  object 
is  municipal  reform.  Its  labors  during  its  first  year  were 
chiefly  performed  in  a  scrutiny  of  official  malfeasance  or  neg- 
lect, and  in  appeal  to  the  Courts  to  enjoin  and  annul  such  acts 
of  the  Council  as  were  considered  illegal  and  injurious.  Its 
first  success  in  this  direction  was  an  injunction  of  an  appro- 
priation of  $5,000  for  a  purpose  decided  to  be  beyond  the 
power  of  the  Council  to  make.  The  amount  was  not  great, 
but  the  example  was  impressive.^  In  the  latter  part  of  1887 
and  the  early  days  of  1888  its  most  important  work  has  been 
in  purifying  the  registration    of  voters.     This  registration, 

'The  Liberty  Bell,  23  Fodernl  Reporter,  843. 


187]  Municipal  History  of  New  Orleans.  33 

intended  to  be  a  protection  against  illegal  voting,  was  being 
used,  as  such  devices  often  are,  to  facilitate  fraud.  The  com- 
mittee availed  itself  of  serious  disputes  between  the  local  polit- 
ical factions  to  intervene  between  them  in  this  matter,  and 
succeeded  in  making  an  examination  of  the  books  and  a  quite 
thorough  house-to-house  canvass  of  the  city.  The  result  was 
that  not  less  than  twelve  thousand  names  were  erased  from  the 
registration  and  the  poll  books.  Many  of  these  were  fraudu- 
lent ;  many,  however,  were  names  of  persons  who  were  dead, 
or  who  had  left  the  city,  or  moved  their  residences.  In  any 
event,  such  lists  and  papers  might  be  used  for  purposes  of 
fraud,  and  it  was  felt  that  this  feat  alone  justified  the  existence 
of  the  committee. 

The  Young  Men's  Democratic  Association  was  organized  in 
October,  1887.  It  was  said  that  the  Holy  Koman  Empire 
was  so  called  because  it  was  neither  Holy,  nor  Koman,  nor  an 
Empire.  The  association  in  question  is  not  composed  entirely 
of  young  men,  nor  of  members  of  what  is  called  the  Demo- 
cratic party.  It  takes  no  part  in  State  politics.  It  has 
declined  to  participate  in  the  primaries.  Its  object  is  declared 
to  be  "  to  promote  the  election  of  men  of  integrity  and  ability, 
irrespective  of  creed  or  calling,  to  fill  the  municipal  offices  of 
the  City  of  New  Orleans."  It  is  provided  by  its  constitution 
that  "  no  member  of  this  organization  shall  hold  or  be  a  can- 
didate for  any  office,  nor  shall  the  organization  enter  into  any 
combination  or  trade  with  any  political  faction."  It  freely 
assisted  the  Committee  of  One  Hundred  in  the  tedious  work 
of  purging  the  registration,  and  then  waited  to  see  what  nomi- 
nations would  be  made  by  the  regular  party  organizations  for 
Uie  election  of  April  17,  1888.  Dissatisfied  with  such  nom- 
inations as  were  made,  it  put  forth  a  ticket  of  its  own,  and 
then  stood  guard  at  the  polls  for  nearly  four  days  while  the 
vote  was  being  cast  and  counted.  The  unexpected  happened, 
and  the  Young  Men's  ticket  was  elected  amid  much  enthu- 
siasm ;  and  the  hope  is  now  freely  indulged  that  the  present 
executive  officers  and  Council  of  the  city  will  introduce  many 
important  reforms. 


»^ 


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